Unlinked Cases Reported on 18 May Include Food Delivery Rider & a Clinic Assistant

Much like my weight during Christmas, the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore is high, but continues to fluctuate.

After the gasp-inducing 38 community cases reported on Sunday (16 May), 21 new community infections were reported the next day (17 May), giving us hope that the numbers were going down.

But nope. 

That number has shot back up to 27 yesterday (18 May), and four new clusters have formed.

Here are the details.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Cluster

Our largest active cluster continues to grow, as another three infections were linked to Terminal 3 at Changi Airport.

They are:

• A 26-year-old female Singaporean who is an IT engineer at Accenture
• A 36-year-old female Malaysia national who works at Toast and Curry Sentosa
• A 27-year-old male Malaysia national who is employed by Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd as a cleaner at Robinson 77

The 36-year-old was placed on quarantine on 14 May and her infection was detected when she was tested on 16 May during quarantine.

She was asymptomatic, but her test result came back positive the next day.

She has also tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests.

Her serology test result is pending.

Learning Point Tuition Centre Cluster

Four of the community cases reported yesterday were linked to the cluster at Learning Point tuition centre.

They are:

• A 37-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who is self-employed
• A 43-year-old female Singaporean who works as an executive at Zespri Hub
• A 7-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Catholic High School
• A 7-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at CHIJ (Katong) Primary School

Both students were close contacts of previous cases at the tuition centre.

The CHIJ student had last gone to school on 11 May and was placed on quarantine on 14 May.

She developed a fever on 16 May and reported her symptom, and was tested for COVID-19 on the next day. Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day.

She also developed a sore throat on 17 May. Her serology test result is pending.

Case 63290 Cluster

One of the new clusters involves two new infections who were linked to Case 63290, who is a 64-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 15 May.

They are:

• A 7-year-old male Malaysia national who is a student at Yuhua Primary School and had last gone to school on 14 May
• A 36-year-old male Malaysia national who is a cook at Spring Court Restaurant

Both are family members and household contacts of Case 63290.

The 7-year-old was placed on quarantine on 15 May and developed a fever, runny nose, and cough the next day.

He was tested and was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive on 17 May.

His serology test result is pending.

Case 63304 Cluster

Another new cluster formed after two new community cases were linked to a Case 63304, who is a 35 year-old female Portugal national who works as a sales personnel at Sanofi-Aventis. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on 15 May.

The two new cases are:

• A 40-year-old female Philippines national who is a foreign domestic worker
• A 2-year-old male Singaporean who is a student at My First Skool (Westgate) and was last in school on 14 May

The foreign domestic worker is a household contact of 63304, while the 2-year-old is a family member of Case 63304.

The toddler was placed on quarantine on 16 May and developed a cough the same day. He was tested for COVID-19 that day and his result came back positive.

Case 63357 Cluster

On 16 May, Case 63357—a 32-year-old male Singaporean who works as an IT engineer at AbbVie Operations Singapore Pte Ltd—was confirmed to have COVID-19.

Now, a third case has been linked to him.

She is a 57-year-old female Singaporean who is a retiree. She’s a family member and household contact of Case 63357 and another previously reported case.

She developed a fever, headache, cough, and body aches on 15 May, and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on 16 May, where she tested positive for her Antigen Rapid Test (ART).

She was immediately isolated and underwent a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test on the same day. Her PCR test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on 17 May.

Case 63236 Cluster

In the fourth new cluster, a new infection has been linked to Case 63236, a 53 year-old male Singaporean who was confirmed to have COVID-19 infection on 14 May. He works as a personal chauffeur.

The new case is an 18-year-old female Singaporean who is a student at ITE College Central. She was placed on quarantine on 14 May and developed a runny nose and fever the next day.

She was tested and confirmed COVID-19–positive on 17 May.

Her serology test result is negative, indicating a recent infection.

Other Cases With Known Links

There were three other community cases reported yesterday who had known links to previous cases. They are:

•  A 21-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who works at The Goodburger Food Truck
•  A 39-year-old female Singaporean who works as a bank officer at Mizuho Bank Ltd
•  A 59-year-old male Singaporean who works as a financial planner at Great Eastern

The financial planner is a family member and household contact of a previous case. He developed a cough on 13 May, and anosmia (loss of smell) on 14 May.

On 16 May, he sought medical treatment at a GP clinic, where he tested negative for his ART.

However, a PCR test was also taken on the same day and it came back positive the next day.

The man has tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant, and is pending further confirmatory tests. His serology test result is also pending.

He received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 8 May.

11 Unlinked Cases Incudes Food Delivery Rider & a Clinic Assistant

Similarly to the day before (17 May), 11 unlinked cases were also reported yesterday (18 May). They are:

• A 46-year-old female Singaporean who is an investment banker at DBS at Marina Bay Financial Tower
• A 57-year-old female Singaporean who works at the Ministry of Home Affairs
• A 95-year-old female Singaporean who is a retiree
• A 39-year-old female Singaporean who is a manager at Corner Stone Global Partners Pte Ltd
• A 35-year-old male Malaysia national who is a kitchen crew at Kota Zheng Zong Bak Kut Teh (Serangoon Gardens)
• A 51-year-old female Singaporean who is a clinic assistant at Dorothy’s Baby & Child Clinic
• A 31-year-old male Singaporean who works at Courts (Funan)
• A 43-year-old male China national who works at Jin Tai Tong Food Industries Pte Ltd
• A 26-year-old male Malaysia national who works as a logistics officer at DCSS Technology Pte Ltd
• A 40-year-old male Singaporean who works as a vending machine loader at Warburg Pte Ltd
• A 38-year-old female Singaporean who works as an analyst at HSBC

The clinic assistant developed a fever, flu, and cough on 15 May and sought medical treatment at a polyclinic on 17 May, where she was tested for COVID-19.

Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on the same day.

She completed her vaccination regimen on 14 May, and had received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 15 April.

Her serology test result is pending.

The 40-year-old who works as a vending machine loader is also a food delivery rider for Deliveroo and Grab.

He developed a fever, cough, and runny nose on 16 May, and sought treatment at a GP clinic on the same day.

He was tested for COVID-19 on 17 May and was isolated after his ART came back positive. A PCR test also yielded a positive result on 18 May.

The man received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 3 April and the second dose on 24 April.

His serology result is pending.

11 Imported Cases

Besides the community cases, 11 more infections were also reported yesterday, all from abroad.

They are:

• 3 Singaporeans and 3 Singapore Permanent Residents who returned from France, India, Myanmar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (UK)
• 1 Long-Term Visit Pass holder who arrived from the UAE
• 1 Work Pass holder who arrived from the Philippines
• 3 Work Permit holders who arrived from Indonesia and the Philippines, of whom 2 are foreign domestic workers

220 Cases Still in Hospital

220 confirmed cases are still in hospital, most of whom are stable or improving. Five are in critical condition in the intensive care.

Another 266 with mild symptoms and lower risk factors are being isolated and cared for at community facilities.

11 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities.

Feature Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purposes only)